University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo undergraduate Alexis Cabrera, who did a directed studies project with professor of anthropology Lynn Morrison, won third prize out of 90 student submissions (mostly master’s and doctoral projects) for her poster presentation entitled, “This Skull Has A Story: Analysis of a Skull Lacking Provenience,” at the Society for Applied Anthropology, a worldwide organization that met in Portland, Oregon, March 19–23.
More than a dozen UH students and faculty from multiple campuses participated in the annual event with over 2,000 academics and consultants from around the world attending. Also presenting were UH Hilo students Josh Turner and Gabriela Edwards with their poster, “Kīlauea Animal Rescue Efforts.”
Edwards presented directed studies work she did with professor Morrison. Turner and Edwards were also co-authors on Morrison’s oral presentation, “Volcanic Eruptions: Saving Lava Animals in Turbulent Times.”
Turner is continuing his studies through the Students of Hawaiʻi Advanced Research Program (SHARP). The program supports all under-represented UH Hilo students, particularly Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, to develop interest and competence in biomedical and behavioral sciences research, helping them advance to doctoral studies.
“Thanks to all the support they have received from the anthropology department and the SHARP program, all three are on a pathway to graduate school,” said Morrison.
For more on the UH Hilo students participating in the conference, go to UH Hilo Stories.
Additional students and faculty from other UH campuses who also participated in the event:
- Lynne Mackin Wolforth–Hawaiʻi CC
- Joseph Genz–UH Hilo
- Attok Nashon–UH Hilo
- Mia Iwane–UH Mānoa
- Kirsten Oleson–UH Mānoa
- Mehana Vaughan–UH Mānoa
- Melanie Hutchinson–UH Mānoa
- Meghan Lea–UH Hilo
- Colleen O’Brien–UH Mānoa
- Margaret Perkinson–UH Mānoa
- Christy Mello–UH West Oʻahu
—By Susan Enright
